Toddler Severely Injured After Swallowing a Battery

By: Mackenzie Wright | May 11, 2018

A toddler who was playing with his toys last Christmas time swallowed a small button battery. Battery acid leaked, burning a hole in his esophagus. The 15-month-old child began vomiting and foaming at the mouth. He is finally recovering, but he's got a long road ahead of him and has to re-learn many things all over again.

Cameron Soto, now 18 months old, is lucky to be alive. He spent three months intubated after suffering a serious injury due to swallowing a tiny three-volt lithium-ion battery. After being intubated for so long, he will have to learn how to crawl, walk, eat and talk again, but his family is just happy to have the toddler with them.

Cameron's mother, Marisa Soto, noticed her son was struggling one day. He had been playing with toys, and like so many toddlers, put the tiny object he found in his mouth. Marisa didn't notice Cameron swallow a battery, but she could tell that her son was experiencing some discomfort. He refused to eat. She became worried.

"He looked okay kind of you could tell he was in discomfort and something was wrong but it look like he probably had a sore throat," the mom said.

When Cameron began foaming at the mouth and vomiting, his mother knew something was seriously wrong. The family had to wait two hours to be seen by a doctor. Things only got worse. The battery reacted to Cameron's saliva, triggering an electrical current that causes chemical burns. It burned a hole in his esophagus.

Cameron was rushed to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center to have the battery remove, but a lot of damage had been done. From the stem of his brain to the top of his heart, the toddler's organs and tissue was all swollen. Two-thirds of his esophagus had been burned and his vocal chords were paralyzed.

Doctors said the best thing they could do was to intubate the child and wait for him to heal. David Soto, the tot's son, was ready to help Cameron fight and pull through. The couple and Cameron's two older siblings, six-year-old Ethan and four-year-old Lilly, prayed for the tot's recovery.

"Every day, morning and night, would pray with our other two kids. Whenever we would get bad news, got good news, it was just keeping the faith and not giving up. Literally putting it in God's hands," said Marisa.

Cameron is up on his feet again. He has a tube in his throat that helps him breathe. Doctors say eventually they will be able to remove the apparatus. His family is thrilled to see him moving, laughing and playing again.

The Soto family warns people with small children to be careful of lithium batteries, or button batteries. They’re small enough to be swallowed, but even if they don’t cause an obstruction they can still be dangerous due to the battery acid.

The problem with these button batteries is that they’re in almost everything we use these days—appliances, remote controls, electronic devices, even toys. Parents should use caution to ensure battery covers do not come lose and cannot be pried open by children, and to watch carefully when a little one is playing with a toy that contains a battery.